Makan Makan at Penang (Nov 2013)

“Makan makan?” Well it’s a casual term when I ask my friends to go food hunting! I can’t help it…I love makan makan with friends; especially street foods around Kuala Lumpur and also throughout Malaysia. Penang is one of my favourite destination to look for great food. I must admit that food in Penang is very commercialized nowadays, thanks to it’s bustling tourism industry. Therefore there are many places to eat, but not all are great. Plus the street food prices are quite exorbitant at some popular touristy areas. Here are some of ‘makan makan’ entries from a recent trip.

 

Lorong Selamat ‘Char Kway Teow’

A famous haunt among locals and tourists, the ‘Char Kway Toew’ (stir-fried ricecake strips) shop at Lorong Selamat is one of my favourite stops when I go to Penang. Check out the aunty with the funky red hat! If you go on a weekend during lunch, be prepared to wait for a while for your CKT to arrive at your table!

 

Yes folks. The portion is quite small for RM8 but you get three large prawns! I’m sure there are other great CKT but this is still one of my favourite.

 

The long wait on a weekend for the Char Kway Teow at Lorong Selamat. We were lucky to have a place to seat, as we were there quite early about 12pm.

 

Penang Road Toechew Chendol

Next stop is for some dessert! The Teochew Chendol stall at Penang Road now has a small shop to cater for ‘dine in’ chendol and rojak!

 

But there are people who still prefer to stand at the road side to have their quick fix of Chendol!

 

Teochew Chendol at Penang road. My rating is 5/10. Tasted only average. Perhaps I’m spoiled by the Nyonya chendol with the snowy ice at Melaka. LOL!

 

The Penang Rojak (a salad dish with prawn paste and chilli). 7/10

 

A short stopover at Penang Hill

Penang is not just all ‘makan makan’. We managed to find time to check out Penang Hill. Pictured here is the fairly new train. It’s my first ride on the new train and I was quite excited and pleased.

Here’s a shot of the train ride. Unfortunately it began to rain heavily when we reached the top. So no chance to take pics of the view from the hill. 😦

 

Keat Seng Food Court, Ayer Itam

Another place we found nearby is a Chinese food court called Keat Seng at Jalan Ayer Putih, off Jalan Air Itam. It has a huge variety of street foods and it took me a while to decide what to order.

 

The first dish that reached our table was the Penang style Chee Cheong Fun (rice noodle roll with prawn paste, sweet sauce and chilli). Quite good 7/10

 

If you’re at Penang, you shouldn’t miss the Penang Lor Bak (deep fried meat roll, prawn fritters etc). This one at Keat Seng is great! 8/10

 

Another famous Penang sreet food is the Curry Mee. Their curry noodles version comes with a light coconut based soup. 6/10

 

Another national dish in Penang is the Penang prawn mee! I am not a big fan of prawn mee, but this one is ok for my taste. 5/10

 

Assam Laksa at the Ayer Itam market

Another place we went to check out is the famous Penang Assam Laksa at the Ayer Itam market. I have read many rave reviews about it, so we decided to check it out.

 

The  Penang Assam Laksa at the Ayer Itam market is ok, but not great. Perhaps I have tasted better ones elsewhere. Perhaps it’s overrated by tourists….

 

We also tried some Poh Piah, prawn fritters and friend meat roll which was next to the Assam Laksa stall. 6/10.

 

We also ordered Char Kway Teow from a stall nearby which was manned by an old couple, which tasted awesome! But unfortunately, my camera battery ran out of juice and I didn’t get to take a pic. Will definitely go there again for another dose of CKT!